On Finding a Job During a Global Pandemic
How I had a 3% offer rate and a new role within three months.
I was in good company when I left Metis mid-September, thanks to the surge in unemployment caused by COVID-19.
My last day at Metis was September 18th, 2020; my first day at Remote was January 11th, 2021. I applied to a total of 66 jobs, interviewed with four companies, and received two offers. My application strategy was 75% applications-with-referrals and 25% cold applying; I cannot say which one was more effective because I received an offer from a company I cold applied to as well as one I leveraged a connection with.
I’ve put together a summary of my approach, informed by everything I’ve learned from mentors, friends, and my time guiding students through career transitions into data science. I hope you find it helpful, and am always happy to connect.
The job search as I practice it has four main stages, and is not a linear process. Expect to circle back to the beginning more than once.
I’ve included an experience or anecdote from my own job searches in each section, but remember to run your own race. There were many almost-zero days in my process.
Planning:
Ideally, the planning phase happens once a year in a good year, and as soon as the water starts to warm up in a bad year. This year, the water reached a rolling boil when San Francisco announced a shelter in place due to COVID-19. Do pay attention to current events enough to know when something is affecting your industry or area.
The planning stage revolves around three main themes: your resume, your goals, and the frosting on the cake.
Resume:
There are a million articles with resume tips and tricks so I won’t spend too long here. Don’t fall into the trap of overthinking. My resume is available as a sample, but should not be used as a template — you can use creddle.io for that.
Treat your resume almost like a slidedeck. You want to introduce the subject briefly, dive into the meat of the topic, and leave things open ended for questions — all while ensuring a visually appealing end product.
Do use the internet! Find job descriptions for the positions you’ve already had as well as positions you’d like to have and incorporate the language into your job search. Use a tool like find-keyword to ensure your resume contains key words with an eye towards your search engine optimization (SEO).
Do make it pretty. Use a tool like creddle.io to make this easier. Your resume should have equal, even spacing throughout and be easy to skim. Pay attention to detail and avoid typos and improper grammar — you don’t want to push yourself out of the running before the race starts.
Do hype yourself up. Instead of writing out your experience as a series of tasks or projects you’ve been assigned and completed, describe the work you’re doing with intention and a respect for the skill required.
Don’t overthink the resume. Job searching is in no small part a numbers game, so it’s okay if you send a rougher resume than you’d like. One application is better than zero.
Stephany’s Experience: I ended up with at least six different resumes, highlighting different aspects of my experience. Each of the six had multiple iterations. I played around with summary statements and keywords based on what role I was applying for. Identifying patterns in the roles that interest you will help streamline your process.
Goals:
It can feel impossible when you’re in it to take a step back and be objective. This isn’t just sympathy, it’s behavioral economics (Read: “Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function”) so remember to have some compassion for yourself as you navigate unemployment.
Whenever you’re able, make a list of everything you might want to be doing in the future. This is similar to a resume in that you should be reflecting over this at least once a year, but especially when the water gets hot. Your list can and should go beyond target salaries and job titles, encompassing the kind of person you want to be and the kind of work you are fueled by doing.
Once you’ve reflected on what you want to be when you grow up for the umpteenth time, it’s time to think about what kinds of roles will help get you there. Thinking backwards from the end goal can help us find pathways that we hadn’t considered before.
Make space for personal goals alongside the professional.
Stephany’s Experience: Give yourself a break. Being a person is hard and job searching can be a full time job, so finding time to do yoga and decompress was a big part of what made my job search sustainable.
Frosting:
The frosting is all the stuff that is nice-to-have in a job search. Video resumes, technical projects, personal websites, freelance or volunteer work. Blogs and articles about projects you’ve worked on and topics you’re passionate about — these are all extras that will make you memorable and help you stand out.
Stephany’s Experience: The frosting is what I worked on when the thought of another cold application made me want to close my laptop. It’s important not to let the frosting overpower the cake, however, so find a balance that works for you and allows you to meet the application goals you set earlier. You can take a look at my website here (note: my resume page is currently inactive since I am happily employed). I wrote blog posts which can be found on my website or on Medium.
Networking:
I have had the most success in my life by leveraging personal connections to find a job. I’ve had luck with cold applications in this most recent job search, but referrals have been the backbone of my career ever since they led me to Metis. Beyond being a step towards a foot in the door, networking is a chance to connect and stay energized as you conduct your search.
After college I briefly headed a chapter of Startup Grind in south Florida, and the three values of the organization have stuck with me.
This is the simplicity of networking events, no matter how contrived. When you’re in the tunnel trying to see the light at the end of your job search, it’s easy to see networking as a straightforward vehicle to a job. In the rear view mirror it can look like one, but in the moment it’s about the most human of experiences: connecting with other people. It’s about finding ways to add a little brightness to all of your interactions.
The point here is to move beyond the transactional and into the substantial, recognizing that building relationships is at its worst a skill to be nurtured and at its best a way to make lasting friends. Scroll to the end for a list of communities I’m a fan of.
Do jump into virtual networking head first. Set goals for how many networking activities you’ll do each week, even if it’s just joining a slack workspace or signing up for a newsletter. Learn how to leverage LinkedIn, setting a target number of new connections and interactions each week.
Do go back to your goals. Find people who are doing the work you want to be doing, and message them. Avoid asking for anything and appreciate that they are individuals you can learn from. Connect with them on LinkedIn and try to find an organic way into a conversation only if you can bring something to the table.
Do embrace the awkward and push past it. Every situation needs someone willing to break the ice, so be that person.
Do recognize your limits and give yourself space to recharge. This process is meant to work for you, not the other way around.
Don’t expect a specific outcome. Lead with what you can do for others and let them ask what they can do for you.
Stephany’s Experience: I found my job at Metis because of a brief exchange on LinkedIn. Towards the end of 2017 I disagreed with someone on LinkedIn. We went on to have a pleasant exchange of comments, an online rarity, so I decided to send them a connection request. The company they were working at seemed pretty neat, which led to a message saying thanks for the debate and to let me know if the company was ever hiring. Four months later, Josh Shaman and I shared an office. We worked together for nearly three years and now he is a good friend and an amazing mentor. The TL;DR is being helpful, respectful, and just a little bit vulnerable works — in business as in life.
Applying:
This is the easy part and the hard part all at once. This is asking the girl to the prom with your heart on your sleeve and doing it over and over again until the right one says yes. There isn’t much anyone could say that will make it any easier, so I won’t waste time. Set a target number of applications each week and stick to it, even if it means applying to a few jobs you would say no to if push came to shove.
Do track your applications. I’ll say it again because it is just that important: track your applications. I’ve made a spreadsheet available for you to download and use.
The reasons for this are many: it’s useful for collecting unemployment, it’s good to know if you’ve applied at a company before and how long ago, it’ll help you recognize patterns in your job search, and it’ll be proof that you’re doing something when the sky gets dark and unemployment feels heavy. It’s data collection, which is always useful and almost always mundane. Do it anyway.
Stephany’s Experience: When it starts to feel like you’re going to drown, think of your future self and send one more. Then close the laptop and do something else.
Continuous Evaluation:
As often as you need to, and be honest about needing to, evaluate the process. How many jobs have you applied for, how many have called you back? How many versions of your resume do you have? Who have you networked with? Is what you’re doing so far working, or is it just draining you dry?
Balance compassion for yourself and your situation with accountability for the things that are in your control. Inhale compassion, exhale any despair, and keep trudging along. Rinse and repeat steps one, two, three as you navigate the seas and don’t hesitate to ask for help.
I wish you the best of luck!
Communities I’m In:
- Metis Community — Data Science focus
- Techqueria — Latinos in Tech
- Startup Grind — Startups & Entrepreneurs
